Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Another week in the books and yet another week of great uploads here on BandSoup! Here are a few of the bands that you must hear according to an unanimous vote from the BandSoup blog team. Remember, new bands pop up on the site 1-5 times per day, so check back in with us. You might be missing out on your new favorite band!

* Click the band's name to hear their music.

Films of Colour (Indie Rock)-- Films of Colour are Andy Clutterbuck (vocals), James Hatcher (guitar), Jack Allinson (bass/synths) and James Rees-Flynn(drums) who together create a sound of remarkable density that incorporates layers of synths and emotive guitars that draw comparisions with the likes of Foals, Arcade Fire vs early Bloc Party, Radiohead, aswell as shades of Miike Snow and Muse.

Ben Rector (Pop Rock)-- Ben Rector is an American musician based in Nashville, Tennessee. His most recent record, Something Like This was released in September 2011. Through word of mouth the record charted at #1 on the iTunes Singer/Songwriter chart, and climbed above Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter IV to the #4 spot on iTunes,albums overall, bested only by Lady Antebellum’s same day release, Coldplay, and Adele. Rector’s songs have been featured on One Tree Hill, Drop Dead Diva, Pretty Little Liars, Teen Mom, ESPN SportsCenter, and ABC’s Modern Family fall promo.

Green River Ordinance (Alternative Pop)-- This fall season marks the 10th Anniversary of Green River Ordinance as a band. In 2009 and 2010, GRO saw tastes of much sought after success: 2 Top 40 radio singles, songs on over 20 TV shows ("So You Think You Can Dance", "The Hills", "The Young & Restless"), 2 music videos on MTV and VH1, tours with American Idol winners David Cook & Kris Allen, Goo Goo Dolls, Collective Soul, Train, Lifehouse, and many others. GRO's Original Song “Rise Up” was featured on the AT&T Team USA 2010 Winter Olympics Soundtrack alongside Mariah Carey, 3 Doors Down, Train, Rascal Flatts.

Run on the Sun (Indie Rock)-- After performing alongside megastars Bruno Mars, The Black Keys, Cee Lo Green and Mayday Parade, appearing on Howard Stern, and playing festivals such as The Bamboozle and Virgin Mobile FreeFest, Run On The Sun has proven themselves to be a band that’s worth hearing.

Shady Maples (Folk)-- Bay Area singer, songwriter and guitarist Owen Roberts and San Diego's beer brewing lap steel wizard Greg Peters formed Shady Maples in 2010 after touring California as a duo. The band's dynamic sound is soulful and gritty with hard hits and bone shivering melodies. Influenced by artists from Iron and Wine to Radiohead, Ben Harper, Fabrizio De Andre and Sam Cooke, their music does not sit comfortably in any one genre but bends between rock, americana, folk and latin.

How To Operate Your Brain (Alternative Rock)-- We saw stars. We saw spaceships. We heard songs of the ages and saw lights in the eyes of our enemies. Now we see nothing. We sit in a cave in the dark and revel at the sound of dust settling.

Opaque Nature (Folk)-- Opaque Nature are a Midlands (Leamington/ Coventry) based band. We play our own brand of new folk/ alternative music, full of energy and hope as well as some more mellowed out intimate music. It has been described by Pete Donaldson as "blissed out folky loveliness, like Kirsty Maccoll and Jeff Buckley all rolled into one."

Flip Cassidy & The Junkyard Gospel (Folk)-- The Reverend Flip Cassidy is a rusty man who plays rusty songs on rusty guitars. The Junkyard Gospel is a howling, raging acoustic sound bellowed forth with a voice like a rusty saw blade. His solo performances are known to be highly energetic and infectious, surprisingly loud, and have even caused rippling, whiskey-induced fervors in audiences, fellow performers and bartenders alike.

Giraffage (Electronic/Instrumental)-- "...A blissful blend of dreamy and ethereal fluttering sounds sprinkled with glitchy effects, quirky drums, and beautiful vocal samples. This is definitely some of the flyest damn music around. Listening to the album is akin to dancing on a cloud while drinking the magic fermented nectar of wood sprites."